Writtle Wanderers 5 - Maldon 14

In blustery conditions Maldon 1st XV travelled to the relatively newly formed Writtle Wanderers for somewhat of a grudge match, with several of Writtle's older players former members of Maldon.

Writtle kicked off to Maldon who were playing against the wind in the first half, and immediately Writtle put Maldon under some pressure to keep them pinned in their own 22. Maldon defended well, preventing Writtle from getting too near their try line, but struggled to get out of their 22 as the clearing kicks could only go a short distance due to the wind. Maldon were pinned in their own half and every clearing kick gave possession back to Writtle.

More good patient defence saw Maldon begin to force Writtle to make unforced errors, giving possession to Maldon. Unfortunately, Maldon were sometimes a bit too adventurous, forcing long passes which went astray in the wind, giving possession back to Writtle. On occasions Maldon were also caught napping at the breakdown, allowing Writtle's wily old heads to slow up Maldon's ball and sometime turn over possession. The second quarter of the game, saw an improvement from Maldon, with both forwards and backs linking well together to make some ground and get into the Writtle 22. Writtle defended well and Maldon couldn't quite get the last pass to hands to score a try, until scrum half Jerry Wood saw a half-gap and scampered through to score under the posts. New player Neil Morris, playing at fly-half today, converted the try to give Maldon a slender 7-0 lead which they kept until half time.

The second half was more of the same, with both teams making several handling errors, resulting in several scrums. Writtle again started the half more aggressively, using the forwards to make ground, but the Maldon defence held up well, guarding the fringes on the breakdown and putting Writtle's big runners to ground early. Unfortunately, a lapse in concentration and a missed tackle saw the Maldon defence run out of players allowing Writtle to score an unconverted try.

Immediately, Maldon hit back with fly half Neil Morris receiving the ball on the half way line and barging through four players to score an excellent solo try under the posts, which he converted himself, giving Maldon a 14-5 lead.

The final quarter of the game became very scrappy, with both teams failing to make much ground. Several handling errors and some disputes at the scrummage meant a lot of the time was spent getting the ball into the scrum and back into play.

Maldon kept Writtle at bay, but failed to make much ground themselves and ended up disappointed but deserved winners.

Maldon will be hoping for a better performance next week in their final league game of the season away to East London.

Burnham  II 20 - Maldon II 34

Burnham started well in this local derby, capitalising on some early Maldon mistakes and going 10-0 up after about 20 minutes of play. At this point Maldon put together a few phases with the forwards picking up and driving a few times before releasing the backs who stretched the ball wide to the right wing before right winger Rowan Dyson flicked the ball inside which was well collected by Maldon fly half Richard Stott who dived over the line to narrow the score to 10-5 to Burnham. The try went unconverted. After a further period of unrewarded Maldon pressure, Burnhams left hand winger showed good pace and elusive running down the blind side from the back of a scrum to score in the left hand corner to put the score15-5, which is how it stayed until half time.

Maldon started the second half strongly with good driving from the forwards and a couple of punching runs from inside centre Ben Rogers and outside centre Nick Foss, which dragged in the defence and created space for the Maldon right wing Rowan Dyson to score in the right hand corner when the ball was shifted out wide. The conversion was missed to put the score 15-10 to Burnham.

Just when it looked as if Maldon were getting back into the match a miss kick from the restart followed by a penalty against Maldon for offside at a maul gave good field position to Burnham from a lineout 5 metres out from the Maldon try line. Burnham won the lineout and drove on from a maul before recycling the ball in a ruck. A Burnham forward picked up from the back of the ruck and drove over to score a try on the blind side. The conversion was missed to put the score 20-10 to Burnham.

Maldon showed good character to come back from this set back with a series of drives from the forwards before a crash through the middle from inside centre Ben Rogers, which committed two defenders and created space outside. Open side flanker Steve Harris, acting as a second scum half, recycled the ball quickly to the left resulting in a fluid passing movement to left wing Mark Hockton who skipped inside to beat two cover defenders to score under the posts. The conversion was added by Lee Higham to put the score 20-17 to Burnham.

Maldon then withstood a period of intense Burnham pressure with some excellent tackling. After weathering this storm gaps began to open up in the Burnham defence when Maldon counter attacked and after a couple of snuffled counter attacks Maldon suddenly broke through when fly half Richard Stott dashed down the middle of the pitch from 25 metres out to score under the posts. The conversion was added by Lee Higham to put the score 24-20 to Maldon.

Burnhams resistance crumbled towards the end of the match with Maldon adding two further unconverted tries from Richard Cohen and Lee Higham to put the final score 34-20 to Maldon in what was a convincing come back.

Maldon 24 - Old Brentwoods 12

Maldon have reached the final of the Monday night flight-lit tournament at Southend for the first time since it's creation five years ago with a comprehensive victory over Old Brentwoods in the semi-final.
This was a convincing win from a young Maldon team, with fly-half Richard Stott adding a hat-trick to his try on Saturday, and scrum half Jerry Wood scoring to also give him a try on both Saturday and Monday.
Man of the match and captain Simon Cheek was very pleased with the team's performance and is now looking forward to the final against Billericay, hoping to take Maldon one step further than second place five years ago.

Upper Clapton 20 - Maldon 18

Maldon were a little unlucky to lose this match with the final kick of the match but ultimately must take full responsibility for a very poor overall performance. Upper Clapton were quick to take the lead after an initial period of pressure, scoring with a simple switch between the inside centre and fly half, which saw the centre break a couple of tackles before crashing over the line. The try was converted to put Upper Clapton 7-0 ahead after about 10 minutes.

Maldon were a little fortunate about 5 minutes later when Upper Clapton missed a penalty kick in front of the posts. Maldon applied good pressure from the restart and were awarded their own penalty kick in front of the Upper Clapton posts, which was unfortunately kicked wide.

Maldon subsequently capitalised on another Upper Clapton infringement and this time elected to kick the penalty to touch. The forwards won good lineout ball and subsequently applied a tremendous rolling drive which resulted in a well worked try. The conversion was missed so that Maldon still trailed 7-5.

Maldon continued to apply pressure and created a try almost from nothing when the scrum half put in an excellent kick ahead from a scrum which trickled over the try line and was touched down for a try by Maldon right wing Andrew Yardley. The conversion was missed to put the score 10-7 to Maldon after about 25 minutes.

There followed a very poor period of play from Maldon who made a number of errors and found themselves pinned back in their own half. Maldon were able to win a 5 metre scrum on their own half but the clearance kick was charged down and the ball bounced into the arms of the chasing Upper Clapton inside centre who dived over the line for the simplest of tries. The conversion was missed but Upper Clapton went back into the lead 12-10.

Maldon thereafter put together a reasonable period of play and threatened to score on a couple of occasions late in the first half but the wrong options were taken and all too often the ball was too slow so that Maldon were only able to add a further three points from a penalty kick in this period of play which nevertheless edged Maldon into the lead 13-12 at half time.

The second half was extremely scrappy with neither side really getting going for the first 20 minutes in an error strewn period. Finally Upper Clapton were able to gain a foothold in the Maldon half and after a series of pick up and drives one of their forwards powered over to score a try to put them back in the lead 17-12.

Five minutes later Maldon were at last able to put some deft back play together with Maldon inside centre Stuart Pearson making a good break before drawing the last defender and putting Maldon right wing Andrew Yardley away for his second try of the match. The conversion was missed to put the score 18-17 and Maldon back in the lead with about 15 minutes to play.

It was at this point in the match that with Maldon deep in the Upper Clapton half that an over ambitious move from the backs coupled with a misunderstanding with the forwards resulted in a penalty to Upper Clapton who were able to clear their lines and put a series of final phases together which almost inevitably resulted in Maldon conceding a penalty in front of their posts which with the last kick of the game Upper Clapton converted to snatch victory 20-18.

Billericay 20 - Maldon 12

Maldon responded well with another period of pressure but were unable to score. Billericay-counter attacked and chipped the ball through. Left winger Ben Rogers went down on the ball and Billericay infringed by not allowing him to get to his feet. The referee played good advantage and the ball was recycled by Maldon and a strong run by Maldon centre Stuart Pearson was followed by a pass to Maldon right wing Doug Fern who had switched to the left. Doug Fern cut through the Billericay defence on one of his trademark gliding runs to score a try under the posts. The try was converted to put Maldon back in the match with the score 10-7 to Billericay. 5 minutes later Maldon centre Stuart Pearson threw a miss pass to the Maldon full back Nick Halls who burst into the line at pace and ran 40 yards before drawing the last defender and passing right to Maldon right wing Doug Fern who glided to the right to score his second try in the right hand corner just beating the desperate Billericay cover defence. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful to put the score 12-10 to Maldon which was how it stayed until half time.

Billericay started strongly in the second half and turned their early pressure into points with a well stuck drop goal, to put themselves back in the lead 13-12. Billericay continued to apply the pressure, kicking deep into the Maldon half and forcing Maldon to counter-attack but invariably forcing Maldon into making errors. 5 minutes into the second half and a Billericay forward was red carded for punching. Maldon must have felt that the match would turn in their favour following the sending off but the balance was shortly returned a few minutes later when the Maldon substitute hooker John Elliott was yellow carded and left the pitch for 10 minutes. During this period Billericay delivered the fatal blow after a number of surging forward runs resulted in quick ball out to their backs. The Billericay outside centre ran a hard strong line to score a try after he was missed by Maldon left wing Ben Rogers after a split second of confusion in the drift defence. The conversion was added to put the core 20-12. Maldon battled hard in the final 15 minutes but barely got out of their own half and were unable to add any more points in order to close the gap.

Maldon 7  Canvey Island 27

Although Canvey continued to put pressure on Maldon in the next 10 minutes of the match, the Maldon full back Nick Halls did well through to run the ball back out of defence but unfortunately the Maldon support play at times was not quite good enough to build on his electric runs. Too often Canvey were able to turn over the ball and their next try came from a quick turn over and good movement of the ball through their backs resulting in a try in the right hand corner. This try went unconverted to put the score 15-0 to Canvey after about 25 minutes played.

At this point in the match Maldon began to exert a little more pressure of their own upon the visitors. A darting run from right wing Doug Fern together with good support from inside centre Ben Rogers almost resulted in a try but Rogers was hauled down just 2 yards short of the line. 10 minutes later after a further period of Maldon pressure, the Maldon fly half Stuart Pearson also found himself hauled down just short of the try line but could not resist a lunge for the line and was penalised for a double movement. Canvey held out and the sides turned around at half time with the score unchanged at 15-0 to Canvey.

Maldon started well in the second half and almost scored 30 seconds after the kick off, with a chip through by the Maldon left wing and a race to touch down over the try line. A Canvey player was deemed to touch the ball down first. 10 minutes later an excellent pick up by Maldon number 8 Chris Pearson from the back of a scrummage was followed by a strong blind side run and switch with right wing Doug Fern. Fern cut back on the angle though the Canvey defence to score under the posts. The conversion was added to put the score 15-7. But Canvey responded well with more pressure and a try from a driving maul. This try was converted to put the score 22-7 with about 20 minutes to go. Further good play from Canvey resulted in another try in the left hand corner, to put the score 27-7. Unfortunately Maldons frustration at this point boiled over and Chris Pearson was sent off for verbally abusing the referee. A few minutes later one of the Maldon props was yellow carded for an infringement so that Maldon finished the match with only 13 players. Maldon hung on and the match finished 27-7 to Canvey.

Upminster 27  Maldon 21

Maldon came out fighting in the second half and began to exert some real pressure on the league leaders. Maldons scrummaging in particular improved and they played a tighter game, punching around the fringes with good support play and recycling of the ball. Just 5 minutes into the second half this positive play yielded a try. Maldon won a lineout on the Upminster 22 and set up an impressive driving maul which took the Maldon forwards close to the Upminster try line. Upminster were penalised for collapsing the maul and Maldon scrum half took a quick tap penalty and passed to Stuart Pearson, Maldon captain and fly half who barged over to score. The conversion was added by the Maldon full back, Lee Higham, to put the score at 22-7.

Upminster fought back and worked their way into the Maldon half reaching the Maldon 22, before Maldon secured turn over ball and with a series of forward drives and off loads to support runners, Maldon worked themselves down the pitch to about 25 metres out from the Upminster line. Quick ball out to the backs resulted in a long pass from Stuart Pearson to Chris Pearson who made a strong run before passing inside to Steve Harris playing at inside centre, who scored under the posts. The conversion was added by Lee Higham to put the score 22-14 to Upminster. Unfortunately for Maldon, a few minutes later, Upminster were able to snatch another try after a charge down from an intended clearance from Stuart Pearson. Upminster failed with the conversion to put the score at 27-14 with about 20 minutes to go.

Maldon kept applying the pressure though and Maldon kicked to touch a few feet out from the Upminster line after being awarded a penalty. Maldon secured the ball from the lineout but were unable to drive their way over the line. The ball was spun out to the backs and Steve Harris made another strong run into the Upminster defence. He laid the ball back and Tony Curtin, who had come on for Dave Redfern just after half time, picked up and drove over the line to score, assisted by his second row partner Simon Peacock. Once again Lee Higham added the conversion to put the score 27-21 with about 8 minutes to go. Maldon continued to apply pressure upon Upminster in the final few minutes but ran out of time before they could add any more points to close the gap.

Maldon 15  Ilford Wanderers 0

This excellent 15  0 win at home to a good Ilford team who have been one of the leagues better teams in the second quarter of the season, seeing them move from bottom place to sixth, leaves Maldon in fourth place on equal 14 points behind Canvey Island and Billericay, with Upminster still unbeaten at the top and with second placed Canvey with a game in hand.

Maldon got off to an excellent start, putting Ilford under pressure right from the kick off, and showing Ilford that they were not going to be dominated in the forwards in the same way as the 18  15 defeat at Ilford in the first half of the season. From the kick off, Maldon pinned Ilford inside their own twenty-two metre line, defending well around the fringes of the rucks and getting the bigger Ilford forwards to ground early, forcing Ilford to kick the ball to touch. From the resultant line-out hooker Sam Bennett threw in to front-jumper John Fletcher, who fed the ball off the top of the line-out to scrum half Pete Orrin. The ball went through Jerry Wood to captain Stuart Pearson who crashed in and set up the ruck, with open-side flanker James Bennett first there as usual, closely followed by number 8 Chris Pearson to clear out the ruck. The ball came back to fly-half Wood, who ran left past the ruck, and chipped the ball over the oncoming Ilford defence, darting past them, getting an excellent bounce and collecting the ball and scoring the first points of the game with a fantastic solo try. Unfortunately Wood did not have to pace to score under the posts, and subsequently failed to convert his own try.

Ilford restarted with a kick to Maldon which they played safe and kicked to touch. James Bennett, jumping in the middle of the line-out in defence, managed to leap in front of his opposite number and steal the ball, beginning the dominance in the line-out that Maldon would keep throughout the match. The scrums however, would prove to be much more even.

The next period of the match was spent in the middle of the pitch, with Ilford making too many mistakes in the backs and Maldon not cleaning out the rucks as well as they should, meaning both teams struggled to get inside the others twenty-two. The only potential scoring situation for Ilford was a missed penalty kick half way through the first half.

Maldon were very patient with the well-drilled Ilford forwards, putting them straight to ground and defending the fringes well. After a few phases of play Ilford would manage to get the ball out to their backs, but they could not hold onto the ball, up against some excellent defence from the Maldon backs, forcing Ilford to knock-on on several occasions. Ilford put Maldon under pressure in the resulting scrums, but the much smaller Maldon front row, consisting of tight-head prop Chris Murphy and hooker Sam Bennett, at 9 stone 10 and 10 stone 2 respectively, and the slightly heavier Keith Knight at loose-head, dug into the soft slippy ground, and held the much bigger Ilford off, allowing the ball out the Maldon backs.

Maldon threatened to break through the Ilford defence on several occasions, with back three Ben Rogers, Dougie Furn and Nick Halls beginning to see a bit more ball. Unfortunately, Maldon could not put enough phases of play together to get nearer to scoring more points, with support not getting wide enough quickly enough, but good defence kept Ilford in the same situation, meaning Maldon went into half-time with a slender 5  0 lead.

A good team-talk at half time from captain Stuart Pearson, coach Jerry Wood and second row and pack leader Dave Redfern, highlighted the improvements required to completely dominate the match. In the second half, the whole team lifted their game, getting round the pitch quicker, and clearing out the rucks much more effectively. Still keeping up the defensive effort saw any possession that Ilford had amount to very little, and slowly Maldon edged their way into the Ilford twenty-two metre line.

Ten minutes into the second half Maldon brought on a bit more weight to the scrum, with hooker John Elliott taking the field. The next spell of scrums saw both teams wheeling the opposition, meaning possession ping-ponged as both teams kept losing the put-in. This spell of consecutive scrums seemed to wear the Ilford forwards down, and they began giving away penalties. Maldon kicked these penalties to touch, and continued to dominate the line-outs. Half way through the second half, Maldon capitalised with one of these line-outs, with John Fletcher catch the ball and second rows Dave Redfern and Simon Peacock driving Maldon on and over the Ilford line. Hooker Elliott and number 8 Chris Pearson wrestled the ball out of the maul and Elliott dropped on the ground to score a text-book forwards try.

The next spell of the game continued in much the same way with Maldon kicking the Ilford penalties to touch. Another Maldon line-out was thrown to Simon Peacock, who collected the ball magnificently, allowing Murphy and Fletcher to drive the maul forward, crossing the Ilford line again with several players dropping to the ground and the referee giving the try. As the pile up dissembled it was hooker Elliott who had grounded the ball, giving him a second and Maldon a third try.

Maldon really turned on the pressure now and were camped in the Ilford twenty-two. The only spell Ilford had in the Maldon half was intercepted by Stuart Pearson who passed the ball to his brother Chris who then passed to the ever-in-support James Bennett. Bennett took contact and shipped the ball to Elliott who stormed upped the middle of the pitch and gave a long ball to Simon Peacock. Unfortunately Peacock was so surprised at the speed he going, especially so soon after the festive period, that he lost control of his arms and juggled the ball before spilling it forward just inside the Ilford twenty-two.

For the remainder of the game, Maldon dominated all aspects of play, with prop Matt Ager replacing Murphy to add further weight to the scrum against the ever-tiring Ilford pack. A brief lapse into fisticuffs showed Ilfords frustration, and shortly after the referee blew the final whistle for a good all round performance and well deserved victory for Maldon.

Maldons next fixture is a friendly away to Millwall, with the next league game the following week away to the unbeaten Upminster, a game that Maldon desperately want to win and a certainly capable of.

South Woodham 12  Maldon 22

Maldon started strongly and were a little unfortunate not to convert some of their early pressure into points. The Maldon forwards in fact crossed the line on two separate occasions but the referee failed to award a try on either citing held up for one and a double movement for the other. South Woodham by contrast worked themselves into the Maldon half after 20 minutes of dogged defence and came away with 5 points for their efforts after kicking themselves into the Maldon half for almost the first time of the match and putting together a couple of phases and a forward pick up and drive over the Maldon try line. The conversion attempt was missed. Not to be beaten Maldon responded almost immediately with their own drive over the line from a lineout in the South Woodham far right hand corner. Maldon No 8 Chris Pearson touched down to level the score 5-5. The conversion attempt was missed.

There followed a passage of play with Maldon creating most of the scoring chances but simply not being able to find the final pass to add any more points. In similar circumstances to their first try, against the run of general play South Woodham exerted their own 5 minutes of pressure on Maldon, which eventually resulted in a drive over the line from their left winger from the blind side of a ruck 5 metres out from the Maldon try line. This time the conversion was added to put the score 12-5.

The Maldon pack responded magnificently with a fine drive from a lineout deep in the South Woodham half a few minutes after the restart resulting in another try for Maldon Number 8 Chris Pearson. Dave Redfern, at second row, back for his first match after keyhole surgery to his knee contributed massively to the marshalling of the Maldon. The conversion was added to put the score level at half time 12-12.

Maldon started the second half well initially but were unable to capitalise and missed a good opportunity to add another 3 points when a penalty attempt from Maldon fly half Jerry Wood went astray. But Maldon continued to apply themselves well and in particular dominated possession as the Maldon pack began to win a series of scrums against the head. Maldon had a somewhat fortunate break when what looked like crossing by the Maldon centers was missed by the referee and Maldon re-cycled the ball well and moved the ball out quickly to the Maldon left winger Andrew Yardley who outpaced the defence to score in the far left hand corner to put the score 17-12 with about 15 minutes of the match remaining. South Woodham picked up the pace of their game a little at this stage and put together a series of drives but the Maldon defence held firm. A crucial turning point in the match came with about 7 minutes remaining. South Woodham looked to bring into the line their large outside center but he was well tackled by Maldon centres Ben Rogers and Stuart Pearson who topped and tailed him causing him to spill the ball. Maldon fly hacked through and Andrew Yardley showed cool composure by continuing to on the ball and beating the South Woodham cover defence in the foot race to ground the ball over the try move for his second try of the match. The conversion was missed but with the score at 22-12 with about 6 minutes remaining their was little more South Woodam could do although they put together some phases in a valiant attempt to reduce the deficit.

In the end the Maldon forward dominance was the real difference between the teams and the Maldon front five deserve a special mention for their strong scrumaging, which resulted in too many lost scrum against the head for South Woodham to have any real chance of winning the match.  

Maldon 15  East London 12

Maldon started this match strongly, keen to get back to winning ways after three consecutive league defeats. Maldon had two early missed opportunities to score. The first of these moves came from Maldons own half with Nick Halls bursting through a gap from full back and only just failing to get his pass to one of two supporting runners, who if the ball had been caught would have had a clear run in under the posts. Five minutes later another move from the backs and a strong run from Stuart Pearson almost resulted in another try but Nick Halls was just unable to keep hold of a slippery ball slipped to him by Stuart Pearson after his break and another try scoring chance went begging.

East London appeared to be buoyed by Maldons two missed opportunities and started to put some real pressure on Maldon in the latter stage of the first half. About 20 minutes from half time Maldon could have elected to clear their lines with a kick from a Maldon scrum deep in their own half but instead opted to sling the ball out to the winger on the blind side, who unfortunately could not keep hold of the ball allowing East London to poach a try from the knock on, the referee playing good advantage. The conversion was missed to put East London 50 up. Five minutes later East London were unfortunate not to score another try when only determined work from Maldon left wing Andrew Yardley and outside centre Ben Rogers managed to keep the ball held up after an East London player drove over the Maldon try line and Maldon held out for the last few minutes to keep the score 5-0 to East London at half time.

Diagonal run
Maldon started very strongly in the second half with the forwards especially driving the ball and putting together a series of phases. Chris Pearson, the Maldon number 8 (man of the match) and Chris Murphy at prop (newly promoted to the first team) particularly standing out with their driving runs and good support play. The Maldon backs also began to mix their game a little more with some probing kicks into the East London half. The pressure eventually resulted in an equalising try for Maldon from a set move from the backs, which saw Stuart Pearson run a diagonal line across the pitch and the defenders buying the Maldon dummy runners to allow Stuart Pearson the space he needed to just get over the line with the last two defenders despairingly hanging onto him. The conversion was missed so that the score remained 5-5.

Bennett brothers combine
Maldon continued to apply the pressure and a break from Jerry Wood, the Maldon fly half resulted in the ball trickling back from the tackle to be collected by Maldon hooker Sam Bennett who combined with brother James Bennett, openside flanker, who ran a good line to beat the defence and score under the posts. The conversion was added to put Maldon in the lead 12-5.

Disaster strikes from the boot of Stuart Pearson
Just as Maldon appeared to be moving into a higher gear and imposing their authority on the game disaster struck when Stuart Pearson elected to kick from the half way line and his kick was miscued straight into the arms of one of the East London centres who ran the distance to score under the posts. With the conversion added this put East London right back in the match with the scores even at 12 12.

Characteristic jinking break
East London, sensing a chance of victory applied a great deal of late pressure on Maldon who did well to keep them out. In the dying minutes of the game Jerry Wood made a characteristic jinking break, running half the length of the pitch before making a daring over the head pass to Stuart Pearson who continued the move. East London infringed at the break down and Maldon were awarded a last minute penalty, which was coolly slotted over by Jerry Wood to put the score 15-12 to Maldon with about 30 seconds of the match remaining. Maldon managed to play out the dying seconds of the match to hang on to a much needed league victory.

Maldon 41 - 7 Westcliff II

In very cold and very wet conditions Maldon beat Westcliff 2nd XV at home by 41 points to 7 in last Saturday's game. As this match was only a friendly and the conditions were atrocious, someone had the excellent idea of only playing 30 minutes each way.

Maldon started the match well with an early try from captain Stuart Pearson which was the result from a solid scrum from the Maldon forwards, and quick ball to the backs. A swift dummy from Pearson opened a gap in the midfield allowing him to squeeze his more-than-slight frame through the two Westcliff centres. The try was converted by fly-half Jerry Wood. The next ten minutes of the match was strewn with handling errors - quite a few from the forwards - resulting in a string of nice warm scrums. Under pressure, the Westcliff forwards gave a penalty away on the half way line, which Jerry Wood kicked to touch. Maldon won the resulting line out and managed to get a drive on, forcing the Westcliff backs to shuffle backward. When the drive had sucked enough of the Westcliff players in, scrum-half Pete Orrin span the ball out to the backs, with full-back Nick Halls joining the line at pace to score Maldon's second try in the right hand corner.

Shortly after Westcliff began to up their game, retaining possession for several phases through their bulky forwards. I couple of missed tackles on their number 8 allowed them to get behind the Maldon lines and score a try to the left of the posts which was converted. Maldon immediately struck back with a try by centre Stefan Roets after some nibble foot work, taking the teams into half time at 17-7.

Maldon completely dominated the second half of the match, particularly the backs. The Maldon forwards had the upper hand on the bigger Westcliff pack, giving the backs plenty of ball to run with. Not long into the second half the Maldon forwards put a few passes and phases of play together allowing props Chris Murphy and Keith Knight to get near the line. The ball came out from the resulting ruck and quickly through the backs hands to allow Nick Halls to score his second try.

Shortly after, winger Andrew Yardley sprinted in from the left wing to score under the posts against the ever tiring Westcliff, with the try converted by Jerry Wood, making the score 29-7 to Maldon.

Following a few more good phases of support play from the Maldon forwards, second row Paul "The Ice Cube" Shepherd neared the Westcliff line, cheered on from 40 metres behind by his second row partner Simon Peacock. With support on Shepherd's shoulder from the Bennett brothers, flanker James and hooker Sam, the resulting ruck again gave quick ball, this time to substitute fly-half Russ Milsted, who, after off loading to inside centre Stuart Pearson, looped round the right winger Jim House to take a pass and score in the right hand corner.

In the following restart, number 8 Tony Curtin collected the high ball and crashed into the oncoming Westcliff forwards. Some good work from the rest of the Maldon pack drove Curtin further up the pitch. As the drive slowed the ball was released through the backs hands to Nick Halls, who running at pace, went straight through the Westcliff backs inside the Maldon half and had the pace to sprint the 50 metres up the pitch to score his third try under the posts. The try was converted by Russ Milsted leaving the score 41-7 to Maldon.

With the game well and truly over, Maldon ran everything in the last few minutes, but were unable to score any further tries. The final whistle went on an enjoyable match with a good win for Maldon in terrible conditions. The only disappointment being full-back Nick Halls, who slipped away without buying his hat-trick jug.

Maldon 2nd XV were also in action last Saturday against Westcliff 3rd XV, but unfortunately lost 30-7. Again this match was a very enjoyable one even though Maldon were two players short for the entire game. With such an advantage to Westcliff, the score may have been higher, but Maldon dug in deep and prevented Westcliff from using their overlap as often as they would have liked.

Upminster  34 - 27  Maldon

In nothing less than an extraordinary game Maldon eventually finished on the losing side of this thrilling Essex Cup encounter.

Upminster who are currently league leaders in the Essex 1 league started the game as favourites but no one would have expected Upminster to get off to the start that they did. An Upminster forward collected the ball from the Maldon kick off and started a strong run, breaking about 3 or 4 tackles and alluding other defenders before scoring under the Maldon posts in what was frankly an embarrassing start for the visitors.  The conversion was added to put the score 7-0 after about 2 minutes. Maldon kicked off again and once again the Upminster forwards returned the ball with interest and worked themselves into the Maldon half.

About 5 minutes later the Maldon forwards recycled the ball well but when the ball was spread out to the backs a wild pass from insider centre Stuart Pearson went to ground and was scooped up by the Upminster left winger who ran in to score behind the posts. The conversion was added to put the score 14-0 after just 5 minutes. Maldon fought back hard at this point in the match and in particular the forwards won some clean possession at scrum and lineout to include stealing some of Upminsters lineout ball.

Maldon conceded a penalty, which Upminster kicked to touch just inside the Maldon twenty-two. Upminster elected to shorten the line to four men but Maldon second row, Paul Shepherd, did well to steal the ball with an athletic tap back. Unfortunately the Maldon forwards were slow to react and a kind bounce into the arms of an on-running Upminster attacker followed by some strong running from him allowed Upminster to score a second try in the far left hand corner. This try went unconverted to put the score 19-0 after about 10 minutes.

A few driving phases into the Upminster half created the space player/coach Jerry Wood at fly half needed in order to drop back into the pocket and cleanly strike a drop goals through the Upminster posts to put the score 19-3.

Maldon began to really come back into the match at this stage dominating possession and territory. Strong running from the Maldon outside centre and fly half and some dogged runs from the Maldon forwards resulted in a try each for hooker John Elliott and prop Keith Knight (both unconverted) and another try for Jerry Wood, which was converted, following a Stuart Pearson interception. This put the score 19  17 to Upminster.

A Maldon penalty followed to put Maldon in the lead with the score at 20-19 with 10 minutes of the half remaining in what can only be described as a remarkable Maldon come back. With about 8 minutes of the first half remaining Maldon prop Keith Knight was sin binned for overzealous use of the boot in a ruck, which gave Upminster an opportunity to get back into the match, which they did well after being awarded a scrum 5 metres out from the Maldon line. Maldon elected to commit a back to the scrum in order to bolster the Maldon pack who were down to 7 men as a result of the sin binning. Although this did strengthen the Maldon scrum it created the additional space outside which Upminster utilised well to score a try close to the posts, which was converted to put them 24-20 ahead at half time.

Maldon came out strongly in the second half with Jerry Wood making an excellent break, running about 40 metres before feinting a dummy which foxed the last defender who drifted to allow Wood to straighten and score under the Upminster posts. He converted his own try to put Maldon back in the lead 27-24. Unfortunately Maldons expansive tactics let them down in the closing stages of the match. A long and somewhat high pass from inside centre Stuart Pearson could not be collected by Maldon right wing Doug Fern and was instead intercepted by an Upminster back who broke clean through to score near the posts. With the conversion added this put the score at 31-27. Upminster added to Maldons woe with a late penalty to put the final score 34-27.   

In a very enjoyable match Maldon and Writtle mixed the teams up slightly, resulting in a 17-all draw, with the majority of the second half played out from the comfort of the bar whilst watching the England v New Zealand game

Ilford Wanderers  18 - 15  Maldon

Maldon suffered their third consecutive league defeat at the weekend to bottom placed Ilford Wanderers. This shock result, being only Ilfords second win of the season will add to the growing pressure Maldon will feel to try and regain some of the form which they showed early on in the season.

Ilford started the match strongly and as a result of Maldons high error rate in the three quarters pinned Maldon in their own half for much of the first 25 minutes. The Maldon forwards did well to keep out a much heavier pack and Ilford were unable to capitalise on this early period of pressure. Maldon were a little fortunate to escape unpunished with Ilford missing two penalty kicks at goal.

Eventually Maldon were able to get out of their own half and exert some pressure on Ilford who coughed up a penalty in front of the post which was slotted over by fly half Russell Milsted to put the score 3  0 to Maldon. Shortly thereafter a Maldon three quarter move from the half way line yielded results when a miss pass put the full back Nick Halls through a gap and with searing space he rounded two cover tacklers to score in the right hand corner. The conversion was missed to put the score 8-0 to Maldon which is how it remained until half time.

Ilford started strongly in the second half and pulled back with a penalty kick to put the score 8-3 followed by another to put the score 8-6.

Maldon then began to put together a few phases of their own with another miss pass to Nick Halls who made the initial break before off loading to Maldon right wing Doug Fern, who had simply too much gas for the Ilford defence. He crossed the line in the right hand corner and rounded behind in the dead ball area to score nearer the posts.  With the conversion added this put the score 15-6 to Maldon, with 20 minutes to go. Arguably this is where Maldons tactics failed. A simple possession game in their own 22 followed by relieving kicks to the corners should have been enough to keep Ilford from scoring or at least forced them to chase the game from poor field position. Instead Maldon elected to continue the high risk strategy of quick tap penalties from their own 22 and spinning the ball wide at every opportunity. As a result this allowed Ilford to capitalise on any Maldon mistakes from deep in Maldons half. Ilford also utilised their bench well, bring on an experienced prop and second row forward at this point in the match to wear down the Maldon forwards who were beginning to tire.  

Shortly after Maldons try a quick tap from a Maldon penalty resulted in the Maldon hooker being bundle into touch which was a waste of what could have been a good filed position had Maldon simply kicked for touch from the penalty. An Ilford lineout followed with a good Ilford catch and drive, which eventually lead to an Ilford try from their heavier pack of forwards. The conversion was missed to put the score 15-11 with 12 minutes of the match remaining. There followed a great deal of Ilford pressure and a very high penalty count against Maldon which eventually resulted in a yellow card for Maldon No 8 Chris Pearson with 4 minutes remaining. As the clock ticked down the Ilford forwards made another effort for the Maldon line from a driving maul from a lineout and scored a try, which was converted to snatch the lead 18-15 with under 1 minute to go. An infringement from the re-start led to an Ilford penalty, who knowing this was the last kick of the game kicked the ball into touch to leave the final score 18-15 to Ilford.

Sudbury III  10 - 59  Maldon II

With no 1st XV fixture last Saturday the focus was on the Maldon 2nd XV.  After a series of good performances including some good wins, and some close losses to strong teams, Maldon 2nd XV produced an excellent second half display to beat Sudbury 3rd XV 59 - 10. 

The first half of the match was quite even, with both teams making good ground but mistakes from both sides preventing the teams from scoring.  Sudbury finally broke the deadlock on the 30 minute mark after a Maldon missed tackle allowed them to score an unconverted try in the right-hand corner.  Shortly after, a good spell of play from Maldon drew the Sudbury defence from the right-hand touch-line to the left.  Then a series of quick passes through the backs hands allowed right-wing Rowan "Jim" Bowan to score on the right-hand touchline.  The half-time whistle blew with both teams locked at 5-5. 

The second half was a different affair altogether. The Sudbury pitch is on quite a steep slope and Maldon soon realised how much of an advantage that was now playing downhill.  The extra leverage in the scrum allowed the Maldon forwards to begin to dominate, driving Sudbury back on several occasions, allowing Hooker Chris Murphy to steal a few balls against the head.  The Maldon line-out continued to work well with front jumper Paul Shepherd stealing a few of thee
Sudbury's throws.  Five minutes into the second half Maldon started capitalising on their dominance with tries from centre Craig Martin, full back Lee Higham, and another from wing Rowan Bowan. 

The Sudbury forwards heads began to go down with twenty minutes left, allowing the Maldon forwards to begin to score some tries of their own in the form of prop Keith Knight, replacment number 8 Chris Pearson, and prop Matt Ager. 

A lapse in concentration from Maldon allowed Sudbury to sneak another try but the game was already well and truly over with five minutes to go.  Rowan Bowan crossed the line again for his hat-trick and captain and lock Simon Cheek sealed the win with an excellent try.  The final whistle went with Maldon winning by nine tries to two, with seven of Maldon's try
converted by full back Lee Higham, resulting in a final score of 59-10.  This was an excellent second half display from Maldon with the younger players performing well and listening to the more experienced players advice. 

Next week Maldon 1st XV are back in action away to Ilford Wanderers hoping to get back to winning ways after two straight defeats.  The 2nd XV are at home to South Woodham Ferrers in the second round of the Essex Cup.  

Maldon 15  Upminster 24

Maldon dropped to fourth place in the Essex 1 league after losing at home to an unbeaten Upminster on Saturday.

This was a game that Maldon could have won and the difference between the two teams is probably closer than the score line suggests. 

Despite a Maldon kick off to start the game Maldon found themselves very soon under pressure in their own half from this highly organised Upminster team. Maldon did well to weather the initial pressure in order to prevent Upminster from scoring but were perhaps fortunate that Upminster were unable to convert two early first half penalties after Maldon infringed as a result of Upminsters initial dominance.

A cheeky blind side restart from the Maldon 22 after the second of Upminsters failed penalty attempts led indirectly to Maldons first points. The Maldon No. 8, Chris Pearson collected the drop kick from the 22 and ran about 50 yards before linking with right winger Ben Rogers (back from injury), who laid the ball back in contact, before the ball was picked up and driven until Upminster infringed resulting in a penalty deep in the Upminster half in front of the posts, which Maldon put over to make the score 3-0 to Maldon after 15 minutes of play.

A determined Upminster came straight back from the restart and exerted a great deal of pressure on Maldon in the Maldon half. The Maldon forwards struggled to cope with the Upminster scrumage but despite these difficulties Upminster were simply unable to score and close to the end of the first half it appeared as if Maldon would go into the break with a fragile 3-0 win. That was until a clever chip from the Upminster fly half (later named man of the match) beat the Maldon right winger and in fact the chasing Upminster winger too but not the Upminster full back who touched down just before the ball trickled over the dead ball line. Upminster failed with the conversion to give them a slender 5-3 lead as the half time whistle went.

Upminster started the second half strongly and crucially scored first and within the first minute. The Upminster backs put the ball simply through the hands and a straightforward missed tackle allowed an Upminster back through to score a try, which was converted to put the score 12-3 to Upminster. At this point Maldon really began to fight back and their backs worked a beautiful try, which was scored by the Maldon full back Nick Halls who came into the line at pace and scored under the Upminster posts. With the conversion added this put the score at 12-10 to Upminster and Maldon very much back in the match. The game was more evenly balanced at this stage with both sides looking like they were capable of scoring. 20 minutes into the second half Maldon were a little unlucky to knock on from an attempted interception and the referee played some good advantage, which was capitalised on by Upminster who moved the ball out well and scored their third try of the match, which went unconverted to put the score 17-10 to Upminster.

Both sides were unable to put any more points on the board until the 35^th minute of the second half when Upminster scored their fourth try of the afternoon in similar circumstances to their second. This time Upminster were successful with the conversion to put the score 24-15 and the game just too far out of Maldons reach. Maldon responded well and were perhaps unlucky not to make more of a final try scoring chance, but even this would not have been enough to spoil Upminsters afternoon, who with this win further secured their position at the top of the table.

Maldon second team had a close match against Southend III, with Maldon leading for most of the match before conceding two late tries to lose 24-13. Maldons second team skipper Steve Harris was not too disappointed with the result however given that the Maldon pack were up against a Southend pack estimated to weigh at least a stone a man heavier.

Canvey Island 36 - Maldon 5

Maldon were given a bit of a reality check at the weekend with their first loss of the season, crashing to a 36-5 loss against a well-drilled and determined Canvey team.  Maldon were playing with a number of players out of position, but still expected to do better. Canveys first try came from a chip through from 10 metres outside the Maldon try line by the Canvey fly-half, who went through to touch the ball down. With the conversion added Canvey went 7-0 up after just 5 minutes. Shortly after that Canvey worked the ball along their backs and the Canvey fly half looped around the Canvey winger to create the overlap and crossed the line before running in around behind the Maldon defence to score under the posts. With the conversion added this put the score at 14-0 after about 10 minutes. The game was a little more balanced for the remainder of the half and neither side were able to add any more points.

Canvey were awarded a penalty early on in the second half, for off side at a ruck, which was put over to extend their lead to 17-0. In the next 15 20 minutes of the second half Maldon created a few unconverted chances. The moves were invariably started from Maldons own 22. Unfortunately despite initial promising breaks mistakes crept in, which in previous weeks would not have occurred, which meant that good chances went to waste.

With twenty minutes left to go Canvey upped their game and ran in three more tries. The first of these was a little fortunate. Maldon were in possession of the ball on their own 10 metre line. A maul developed and the Canvey Number 8 was warned by the referee for being off side and yet when he came out of the maul having stolen the ball the referee allowed play on resulting in a Canvey try, which went unconverted, to put the score 22-0.

About 5 minutes later, Maldon allowed the ball to scoot out the back of a scrum, and the Canvey fly half kicked though. The Maldon fullback appeared to have this covered but the ball cruelly ricocheted off one of the posts and bounced into the arms of the chasing Canvey scrum half who scored with Canvey adding the conversion to put the score at 29-0 and the game well out of Maldons reach.

10 minutes later, Maldon dropped the ball on their own 10 metre line and the Canvey fly half kicked the ball through once again and following his own kick he got their before the defence and touched down for his third try of the afternoon. The conversion was added to put the score 36-0 to Canvey.

Maldon managed to sneak a consolation try in the last play of the game to at least put points on the board but will have to improve greatly in the next week as Maldon have an important game this coming Saturday with a home fixture against so far unbeaten Upminster.  A victory would put both sides on 10 points, but a loss would put Maldon four points behind the leaders and possibly move Maldon further down the table, making Maldons chances of winning the league a bit slimmer.  This fixture also coincides with the first of Maldons vice-president's lunches for the 2005-2006 season.